Burnt Church natives say they won't back down

BURNT CHURCH, N.B. - Unfazed by the largest  and most violent 
raid by fisheries officers so far in the ongoing dispute on Miramichi
Bay, native fishermen say they plan to set more traps.

An early morning raid yesterday in which 900 lobster traps were seized
and two native boats sunk also has native leaders saying the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans is using unreasonable force in confrontations
with fishermen from the Burnt Church reserve.

"When you see these great big boats travelling at high speed, and you
see these four little fishermen jumping into the water in order to save
their lives, that is not reasonable use of force," said Ovide Mercredi,
former national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. DFO officers used
pepper spray, boats were overturned and people on both sides were injured
Tuesday in the latest pre-dawn raid. The band says it is exercising its
treaty right to fish. DFO says they're breaking the law.

And the dispute is spreading. The Tobique First Nation is rejecting
an agreement with the federal government worth $7.5 million. One band
councillor says it's to show solidarity with Burnt Church. The agreement
would have given the band money for boats and training. But it would have
also limited the amount of fish the band members can catch. The band says
it will defy Ottawa and fish when and where it wants.

The raid on burnt Church started at 2 a.m. Tuesday as fisheries officers
swooped in and began seizing lobster traps. Lloyd Augustine watched from
the shore. "The scary thing about this process is that Canada accepts
this to be a normal thing to be done out there to First Nations people."
DFO spokesman Andre-Marc Lanteigne says the department was only doing
its job and says every effort to negotiate had been exhausted. "Law enforcement
is never pretty - that's what it boils down to - and this is consistent
with the minister's ongoing message that he will continue to enforce the
Fisheries Act. It's not to have a confrontation, definitely not, but our
officers are prepared."

Federal fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal said in a statement that any
dialogue with the community would not yield results as long as the band
continues fishing. Dhaliwal hopes this latest manoeuvre will bring the
two sides back to the table. Dhaliwal says he'll meet with the Burnt Church
chief and council as long as there are no traps in the water. But Burnt
Church isn't prepared to back down. Mercredi says it's time for Ottawa
to stop putting conditions on this dispute and meet with aboriginal people
on their own terms.

August
29, 2000

Christian Peacemakers Call for
End to Government Attacks on Mi'kmaq

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) calls on all people of faith and the
citizens of Canada to join us in denouncing Canada's recent attacks on
the treaty rights of Mi'kmaq lobster fishers. CPT is present in Esgenopetitj
(Burnt Church NB) and has witnessed the militarization of the conflict
between the Mi'kmaq and the Canadian Government.

CPTer Lena Siegers, a Mennonite grandmother from Blyth, Ontario, says,
"Since this community started their fall fishery, they have suffered constant
assault. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has joined together
with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in a series of attacks.
The RCMP has been seen with a dozen squad cars, assault rifles and riot
gear when they come to antagonize this tense community. Surveillance planes
and helicopters make regular flights at low altitude over the houses,
causing a great deal of stress for the children and the elders. Early
this morning I watched as Canadian Government forces nearly killed several
Aboriginal people by ramming and sinking boats and pursuing people floating
in the water after being thrown overboard."

CPTer William Payne of Toronto has previously worked in Chiapas, Mexico
in communities facing military occupation. He expresses great sadness
at the similarities between the two conflicts: "Both in Mexico and in
New Brunswick, government forces alternate between attacks on communities
and thinly disguised attempts at �negotiation'. In both places the besieged
communities are faced with the option of negotiating with guns to their
heads or continuing their resistance to an unjust use of force."

CPTer Janet Shoemaker of Goshen, Indiana speaks of parallels between
the Canadian Government's actions and the actions of military forces she
has witnessed in the West Bank, Palestine: "Again here I see a use of
excessive force against people armed only with their rights to their own
resources and a few stones. This is what I saw in the Middle East. I did
not expect to see it in Canada."

A group of Mi'kmaq women, who are both fishers and mothers, expressed
their outrage to CPT concerning the actions of the Canadian Government:
"I see this situation as an invasion," said a mother of two small children.
Another said, "Canada is attacking Burnt Church. They are robbing us.
It is like they are raping us."

We believe that if Canada's actions continue to escalate, its forces
will kill someone who is only acting to protect his or her children's
future.

The time is long past for the Canadian Government to begin dealing with
Aboriginal people in a spirit of truthfulness, justice and peace. As a
programme of the Mennonite Church, the Church of the Brethren, and Friends
United Meeting (Quakers) and two hundred supporting congregations, we
demand that the Canadian Government stop these attacks.

Members of the CPT New Brunswick team currently include John Finlay
(Walkerton ON), William Payne (Toronto ON), Janet Shoemaker (Goshen IN)
and Lena Siegers (Blyth ON). CPT has come by invitation of the people
of Esgenopetitj to accompany the First Nations people as they struggle
for respect and for the recognition of their inherent and treaty rights
to fish.

The DFO has been in the water today with 22 boats versus
the Mi'kmaq 14. There has been violence on the water today with
DFO ramming boats, and which includes trying to do a sandwich type crunch
on Mi'kmaq small boats. Two boats were sunk by running over the top of
small Mi'kmaq boats.

In one case they ran right over the top of one boat whereas three men
inside the boat had to dive off of the boat to keep from being killed.
At that point DFO still seeing them in the water proceeded to try to run
over the men who were in the water. If it wasn't for the Esgenoopetitj
Rangers intervening, they probably would have succeeded.

Due to this and the extensive damage done to Mi'kmaq vessels the tribe
is strongly considering a lawsuit as well as laying an attempted murder
charge on DFO.

All these events on the water today were taped by various supporters
of Burnt Church. Some were the ARC (Aboriginal Rights Coalition) and others
CPT (Christian Peacemakers Team)... plus various other people were filming
at the same time. These tapes have been passed on to the media who at
this point seem to be pretty angry with DFO.

- Lloyd Augustine

August
20, 2000

International Call for Prayers for Burnt Church

August 20, 2000
Burnt Church, New Brunswick

The situation regarding the lobster fishing dispute between Burnt Church
First Nation and the Canadian government has escalated. Department of
Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has reneged on their agreement to temporarily
cease the seizure of lobster traps and equipment while negotiations take
place.

Armed DFO and Police officials have resumed militaristic attacks; last
week, 4 Burnt Church fishermen were arrested at gun point; one of the
men was pepper sprayed and another choked to unconsciousness. The RCMP
have stated that they intend to bring in reinforcements. At the time of
this writing, RCMP are at Burnt Church in full riot gear, while the defenders
of Burnt Church have only rocks to protect the territory.

There is no need for the Canadian government to increase their use of
force against unarmed people.

We call at this time upon the spiritual leaders of all nations and religions
to join us in prayer for the restoration of peace and sovereignty for
Mi'kmaq people, whose lives have become endangered while exercising their
inherent right to natural resources.

We ask that spiritual leaders begin prayer vigils for peace and open,
nation-to-nation discussions for Burnt Church and Canada.

Canadian Government Backs Out of Agreement
with Burnt Church Natives

August 19, 2000
Burnt Church, New Brunswick

Department of Fisheries and Oceans New Brunswick and the Mi'kmaq of
Burnt Church had reached a tentative agreement that would allow the Natives
to fish in a certain perimeter. However, the federal Department of Fisheries
and Oceans (DFO) had broken protocol by restricting further the fishing
grounds allocated to the Mi'kmaq as well the number of traps has been
reduced further.

As the talks degenerated further, DFO stated that they would use "force"
to achieve their objective of shutting down the lobster fishery at Burnt
Church. Many of the Mi'kmaq depend on the lobster fishery as their only
means of support, as the unemployment rate is near 90%. Burnt Church First
Nation is not in a position to lose any more traps as over 3000 have already
been confiscated by DFO or destroyed by non- native fishermen.

We are urgently requesting any assistance you can offer as this is a
desperate situation. We cannot give up this fight and must continue to
ensure that our Treaty Rights are honored by the Canadian Government,
and we must protect our Inherent Right for the next 7 generations, we
are obligated by honor and duty to do so.

It is critical for us at this time to plead for the presence of witnesses
to the continued assault of the DFO, RCMP and Canadian military on our
fishermen. Unarmed

members of our community members have suffered repeated violent attacks
by government officials; these have not been reported by mainstream media,
further compromising our safety and well-being. We have tried our best
to trust in the peaceful process of discussion and negotiation, and are
left to defend ourselves against the bad faith of the government officials.
We thank you for your consideration.

August 18, 2000

Tough Talk from AFN chief lifts natives

By Tu Thanh Ha
The Globe and Mail
August 18, 2000

Burnt Church, N.B. -- Canadian natives have the right to keep fighting
on the water for their share of natural resources even if Ottawa says
it's illegal, Assembly of First Nations chief Matthew Coon Come said yesterday
in a show of support for the Mi'kmaqs here.

During a visit to this Mi'kmaq reserve, scene of the latest flare-up
in the Atlantic native lobster-fishing dispute, Mr. Coon Come urged Fisheries
Minister Herb Dhaliwal to stop his agents seizing native lobster traps.
"Mister Minister, I ask you to call off your troops."

But behind the strong words were also behind-the-scenes attempts at
diplomacy. A meeting between federal negotiator James MacKenzie and the
natives is tentatively set for today, fisheries official Andr*-Marc Lanteigne
said.

There were also plans to remove temporarily the two roadblocks the natives
erected on Highway 11, because of the community's annual pow-wow celebrations
this weekend.

Burnt Church residents are discussing whether to dismantle the barricades
fully or partly and hand flyers to the passing traffic during the pow-wow,
said James Ward, the Mi'kmaq in charge of fishing policy and the barricades.
The roadblocks could reappear again after the weekend, he added.

The barricades were erected after 748 traps set by natives were removed
from the water by fisheries agents on Sunday, but their impact has been
minimal because drivers can detour around them in 10 minutes.

Fisheries agents deem the Burnt Church traps illegal because they exceed
the government's non-commercial allotment of 40 cages during the off-season.
The Mi'kmaqs want to run the fishery themselves, and their management
plan allows up to 5,000 cages.

While a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last year expanded the rights
of natives to fish, Ottawa notes that an ensuing court clarification gives
it the right to regulate such activities.

"We will have an orderly and regulated fisheries," Mr. Dhaliwal said
yesterday.

The natives look beyond Canadian laws, however, and argue, as Mr. Coon
Come did yesterday, that international law and the United Nations give
them the right to control their own means of living.

"He [Mr. Dhaliwal] is attempting to misrepresent the issues of law,
particularly the extent of the federal government's authority," Mr. Coon
Come said. "He is clothing the actions of his government in legitimacy
when there is none."

Mr. Coon Come's presence gave a visible face to the outside support
that the Burnt Church natives are getting from other natives, Mr. Ward
said. "We now know that we are not alone in our struggle," said Burnt
Church elected chief Wilbur Dedam.

"Everything is in the works, everything is coming along pretty good,"
said Mr. Metallic. He said he had been speaking to local fisheries officials
and playing telephone-tag with Mr. MacKenzie, who reached lobster-fishing
deals with 29 of Atlantic Canada's 34 native bands.

But first, both sides have to agree on what to talk about. The Mi'kmaqs
want their management plan to be recognized, while fisheries officials
say the activities of the Mi'kmaqs are illegal.

July 28, 2000

TORONTO: A pattern of harassment

by Natasha J. Krahn
CPTnet
July 28, 2000

On Monday, July 17 two officers from the Department of Fisheries and
Oceans (DFO) showed up on Doug Pritchard's doorstep. "They came wearing
bullet proof vests, and carrying pepper spray and handcuffs," Pritchard
reported. "One officer came up on the porch while the other waited down
below in the yard."

They came to charge Pritchard, the Canadian coordinator of Christian
Peacemaker Teams (CPT), in relation to an incident that took place on
June 12 in Miramichi Bay in northeastern New Brunswick. CPT maintained
an observer presence with the esgenoopetitij First Nation (EFN) during
the lobster fishing season this spring.

CPT's presence was requested because earlier this year the EFN refused
to sign agreements with the DFO. The EFN have been exercising their treaty
rights to regulate their own fisheries and this has gained them unwelcome
attention from the DFO, including lobster trap confiscation.

On June 12 at about 1:30 pm three DFO boats with eight officers came
and once again began pulling up EFN regulated lobster traps and confiscating
them. Two members of the EFN went out on the water in a small twelve foot
dory to challenge the officers and Pritchard went along to observe.

The EFN members said that the DFO officers were breaking the law by
confiscating the traps, as well as violating treaty rights, stealing fishing
equipment and trespassing in territorial waters. The DFO officers responded
by circling the dory in their speedboat which generated large waves. Then
the DFO officers turned their motor towards the dory, lifted the motor
and gunned it. This created a wave that swamped the dory.

Meanwhile another boat from the EFN came out to help, bringing four
more members of the EFN and two more observers: Chris Buhler, also of
CPT, and Ron Kelly of the Aboriginal Rights Coalition (ARC). When it arrived,
the DFO officers rushed towards the boat with full force threatening to
broadside it. At the last second, however, they swerved and collided with
one of their own boats.

The DFO boats finally left after confiscating about twenty traps.

As a result of this challenge to the DFO's actions, all six EFN members
on board the boats have been charged, along with Pritchard, with obstruction
of a fisheries officer, which carries a maximum fine of $500,000. Buhler
and Kelly were not charged.

"It's a pattern of harassment," Pritchard commented. "First they [the
DFO] charge the people who go out to fish. Then they charge the people
who go out to challenge the DFO officers. Now they are charging the people
who go out to observe."

All those charged are to appear in court in Neguac, New Brunswick in
September to enter their pleas and set a date for trial.